The second half of a recent Fresh Air features Dr. Anna Lembke and her new book, “Dopamine Nation.” It’s about the brain’s reaction to pleasure and pain, and how that relates to addictions. She asks her patients struggling with addiction to practice “radical honesty.” And so one of the things I recommend to my patients in addition to, you know, …
The Lost Tools of Business: An Introduction
I am writing a book, “The Lost Tools of Business.” It is an attempt to share with organizations the secrets to growing successful cultures that I have learned through classical education. I’ll be previewing drafts of the chapters periodically on this blog. The following is the introduction. I would love–and need–your feedback. I hope this is a blessing to you …
Good managers ask more questions
I’ve had this article bookmarked for some time now because it’s so practical: “Why the best managers ask the most questions.” The author has four practical suggestions for asking more questions. Given our recent posts about listening to sell, listening to receive feedback, listening as a part of wrestling to grow … well, you get the idea. We think listening …
The one skill you must have to sell
I had just closed a car dealer on working with me for a second year. In the work I do, there are no salaries or benefits. You work gig to gig, retainer to retainer. Every gig was a big deal for my wife and me–nothing, including income, is guaranteed. (Actually, nothing is guaranteed even for the salaried. We all work …
Would Mother Teresa have approved of coaching?
If you are like most people, you probably want clarity in some aspect of your life. But maybe you shouldn’t, unless you spend time answering two questions. Do not pray for clarity I think there is a healthy skepticism of businesses that go to market as a faith-based or social cause. It can feel like a rubber stamp: “We care …
Podcast 68: Dignity, Part 3: How-to and why it’s good for you
When dignity isn’t honored, people suffer! After episodes describing dignity and the temptations to violate it, Mike and Mark get down to describing HOW to honor it in practical terms–and why that’s such a big deal. References: The Donna Hicks book that inspired this series can be found here. We also reference “the Chick-fil-A video” and “The Five Dysfunctions of a …
Socrates on feedback
My translation of Plato’s Republic includes the Cleitophon, a tiny little document that scholars doubt was written by Plato. But it is a dialogue like many of Plato’s works, and it reads as a reaction to the Republic. The student, Cleitophon, has questions and concerns about the teachings of Socrates. We talk about feedback (including in podcast form) quite a …
Podcast 65: Special Episode: Coaching Mark on seeing his tribe
Another live-coaching example! Periodically Mike and Mark provide examples of what coaching looks like. Tune in to hear Mike coach Mark on the teams-vs.-tribes principle from Episode 64. What is the tribe for Mark’s classics-focused business, Hip Socket? We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify.
Podcast 64: Do you need a team … or a tribe?
Mike and Mark are back to discuss teams–this time, in comparison with tribes. Which do you need? And how do you identify if you have a tribe? Mentioned in the podcast: “Tribes” by Seth Godin. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify.
What a black cemetery teaches us about self control
Plot twists ahead I read that this photo is one of a kind: the only surviving Civil War portrait of a black soldier with his family. As of 2010, it belongs in the Library of Congress archives. And, according to Rockcastle’s Mount Vernon Signal, the soldier has now been identified as Sergeant Samuel Smith, United States Colored Troops. The grave …